Of Eleflion, day of the Apoltolick Age, and not ot the word only in the Evening ofwhich~ he wrote, and he proves rt by rlus very token, 1 John 2. t8, rg. EvetJ vow, Ctrap. 7• thne are many AntJchnjls, whereby we kr10w that u u the lajltmu. Thry~ weut out from ttJ, &c. _ . , And nowt<> return to this my begun Allufion."This Age was as the Autumn, and foju/J ofthe teaf; after thJt foregone St~mmer, in which the goodly Fruit . of many wnhered. 'fis Jude's own comparifon, Jlerf. 12. Ht::Gcmpareth Wi!!er, In At.· thefe A poHate ProfdTors, unto trt~s, wbojejnut withered. Aid'p~fOtr~'Killpnd. tumn:zi:s .111t The uft: of which words IS£? fignifie Trees of Attl1tm11_ (as is welllmown.) :~~;~;~··;:·;~·. J¥hich MTranfl~l:.e~ whofefrurt wrtherFtk; becaufe Fruit and Leaves, and all tis ~~~r!m~~~~·· fell off at tile exprnng ofthrs Age,as Trees mAutumnu[e to do. . ~«~•• ~"; Now there having Jal!en out 10 great a foiling away of matJ)', as Chrifl alfo ;;; ?:{;::;:;;. foretold fhould be afore the end of that Age, "hich was at the diffolution of"''"'""'· Jerufizlem, ( which alfo fell out towards the end ofthis AutHmll) Mall. z4. 12, 'l· Becaufe Iniquit;jha/J abo1111d, the love ofmanyfba/J wax cold. Bui he tb,,t Jh.z/J endure to the end, the fame jb,,!J be faved. Hence thefe Saiots that continued to keep Faith alldagood coufCieuct to the md, thefc were pretious Saints indeed; as in the .~ccount of God and Chrifl, foof thefe Apoflles t hat were left alive. And Peter fo fliles them in the beginning ofthat his Second Epiflle, Ver{ t. To them that h,Jve obtaintd like preliou; Faith wit6 m. That i•, with us the Apoflles of Chrifl, and called by the commtmic<~lton of the 'D1vine Nature, Verf 3· And Jude in lrkc manner here. And the mind of this his Fromifpice and Dedrcation, is as if he had f.1id, Oh ! you preferved ones in Chrifl, l congratulate you, and Chriflianity preferved in you, That but for whom the Chnflian Profeffors ofthis decayed 1\ge, had been like unto Sodorn and Gomorrh,t,. [Unto whom Jtede compareth t llofe othet Apo, Hates, Ver( 7.] But you remain :s lafling Monu_ments ofperfeverrin'ce, let this be written on your Tombs, The Preferved rn Chrejl, a11r!Cal!rd. In you, and upon you. hath that other port of Chrifls Prophecy been fullillcd, M 11!, '+ 24- For there)h<~!J arife falje Chnf/s, a11d (1/[e 'Prophets, anrl jb,,fljbew, greAt (fgns medwonrlers, ;,.(omuch (that IF IT WERE POSSIBLE) they jba/1 'DECEIVE THE VERT ELECT. And fuch are you; it is spparem that you arc them thefe falfcChri(lians could not deceive. ' l· The weight rmdmomenl of thematterof'thu Fpif/le, which is i1Jdu(lri– ollf/J ill/intt,Jted i1l hu Prrj;1cr unto it, Verre 5· Btlm:ed, u,he11 I gave all di– !tgtua to w~·itt tmto ) 'OiJ of the commou S~liVutiou, it WtJJ tuedfu! fOr me to write tmlo yott, med exhort th.:t;•e}hottldermufiiJ•coutelldfor the Fmh which WtU ouce de!Jvertd wllo the S~liuts, which h:1th buu iJJ thefe times vehe... mwtly oppofed, rwd i11 da11grr lo 6r loft. In which words, I do take notice of Three things. . 1. That it was a more than ordinary impulfe which he had upon him, cauf– ed him to write of this matter, and in this manner. 'Tis true indeed fays he, I hadagreat dejire tifo" me to wntr to;·o11 .u fome other Apojlles have done; I gave all dil1gmce or pudy ; that is. 'I had a purpofc and attention of mind, 'towrite to rou, and waited for the Holy Ghoft to come with a flream upon 'me, t:!ic. llttt this proceeds not meerlyoutof' fuch an ordinary provocation, for when I did attemp~. I J'ou~d a necelliry, 'A,t(?K"~ ixoy, .( 'Tis under Tranfla- ~Jn~~~d ~~~,~ ted to fay, I thought 11 11eedjttl) I was conflratn~d, or tmpelfcd, a necellJty Jiu&r,L 1 f,,, lay upon me (Thus Catvm.) And therefore fet rng I was thus fingulnrly car- '"''"f~i!Jn, ned on by the Holy Gho.fl to write what now~ do; it is your p1rt and duty) arid ~~t/fi;;!e;~~;: a neccffity lyeth upon you alfo, to attend umo lt. wmcoegerit. Secondly, Whereas this my own defire ofWriting, had pitcht upon matters ofSalvation, as they did in common coocern all us Chriflran•, [ Hu wordu the commo11 S,;lvrJiionl that is, to have delivered filch points ol D nch;ne abollt Salvation in a promifcuous way, as Paul, and other my fellow Aporlles have done in their Epiflles ( Wbm J fay.s he, I began to fet Pen to Paper by tire im– pulfc of the Holy Ghofl, l was diverted by him from out of that common Chanel and General R.oad,. into this particular Chanel, to writ; fingularly Z and
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